If your business is growing as fast as you would like, don’t waste your time reading this. Go take care of business. If, on the other hand, you are one of the many that would like to see their sales increase and, even more important, their profit increase, then read on—we can help.
My name is Dave Free, I’m president of a company called Zeryn. Like you, we are a small company doing our best to create value for our customers. My partners and I haven’t always been entrepreneurs. We all got advanced degrees from major universities and went to work for major corporations. That was many years ago and while we each learned a lot from working for others we all came to the conclusion that we could do more and learn more if we went to work for ourselves. We were right.
How do you compete with deep pockets?
We learned that small companies like yours and ours could move faster, be more creative, and deliver more personalized service than the “big guys.” But we also learned that just being better is not enough. The advertising of the guys with the deep pockets bombards the marketplace. Cutting through that advertising chaos and getting the message out is nearly impossible. We aren’t alone in that perception. In fact we did some research and found that the majority of small business owners consider their growth too slow and that nearly 70% consider finding new customers one of their “most difficult” challenges.
What is the secret to growth?
Growth. Just about everyone wants more of it, but how many understand what drives it? We didn’t, until we found some research by Friedrich F. Reichheld. Reichheld and his team did extensive research and found that the best indicator of growth is customer loyalty. They also found that they could accurately determine customer loyalty by asking customers one simple question: “How likely is it that you would recommend this company to a friend or colleague.” You can read about Reichheld’s research and results in a Harvard Business Review article entitled "The One Number You Need to Grow" (#R0312C). (There is no relationship between Reichheld and Promoterz™ or Zeryn, Inc.)
Play to your strengths
As we considered Reichheld’s research it occurred to us that as small business owners we certainly can’t compete by outspending the big boys, but we have the ultimate weapon in the battle for loyalty: ourselves. Think about it: As a small business owner you have more passion and more commitment for what you do than a hundred high-powered executives. You are willing to move heaven and earth to please every customer. Well, almost every customer. You know it’s not just about the transaction, it’s about the relationship. The result is happy customers that are loyal and willing to recommend you to their friends (the key to growth). Trouble is, there is only one of you and you can only deliver so many miracles in one day.
You times 1,000
What you need is a tool that allows you to keep your finger on the pulse of customer loyalty no matter how many customers you have. You need a tool that enables you to communicate directly and personally with customers without spending an arm and a leg on advertising. You need a tool that empowers happy customers to spread the word quickly and a tool that lets you be the first to know if a customer is not happy. You need a tool that multiplies your natural abilities by at least 1,000 times. You need the Promoterz™ service. The Promoterz™ service:
- Measures the loyalty of your customers
- Cuts through the advertising chaos and gives you a direct and personal communication link to your customers
- Identifies customers that are ready and willing to promote your business and gives them an easy and compelling way to do it
- Identifies customers that aren’t happy and gives you an easy and direct way to contact them
- Encourages your customers to give you new product and service ideas
Powerful concept and powerful technology
If the key to growth is generating loyal customers, doesn’t it just make sense to measure loyalty? Our accountants can tell us what the book value of the fifteen-year-old copier in the corner is, but how much impact is that going to have on our growth? The answer is obvious. Trying to drive your business by looking only at traditional financial statements is like trying to drive a car by focusing exclusively on the rear view mirror. Financial statements report on what has already occurred but give you no indication of what will happen in the future. Again, the best indicator of future growth is customer loyalty and if we want to manage it, we first have to measure it.
Ask the right question and only the right question
The best way to find out how loyal a customer feels towards your business is to ask them. Simple enough you say in fact, you may already have a customer satisfaction survey in place. Chances are you have a hard time getting enough customers to complete the whole thing and even when they do any analysis occurs so far after the event that the chance to impact anything is lost. Or it's so sanitized that it has lost much of its value. Remember our goal at this point is to measure how loyal the customer is--nothing else. One simple question is all it takes: “How likely is it that you would recommend this business to a friend or colleague?” Think about it, if someone is willing to put something of value, their reputation, on the line for your business they must be pretty loyal. Keeping it simple and short improves response rates and keeps you and your employees focused on what is most important: loyalty.
See the results now!
There is nothing more powerful than fresh information. Unlike wine, data just loses its usefulness as it ages. The Promoterz™ service never sleeps. As your customers respond 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, the information is available to you instantly. In fact, if you choose it will send you an email each time one of your customers responds. Deal with the issues when they happen. Makes sense doesn’t it?
It's all about the relationship
Almost as important as the feedback the customer leaves is the new link to the customer that has been established. Developing a relationship takes time and effort. It takes multiple interactions in multiple ways. The Promoterz™ service provides another opportunity for your customer to interact with you in a meaningful way and opens the door for further direct communication. Imagine having a list of your customers email addresses that have asked to be made aware of news and information about your business. Imagine customers asking to receive your ads—ads that don’t cost you a penny to send. That’s a pleasant and compelling thought! The Promoterz™ service does it automatically.
The power of the personal recommendation
Sound complex? It’s really not. You already know instinctively that the best way to grow your business is to please your customers. In fact, you already have customers that feel like they have a personal relationship with you. They are loyal to the end and go out of their way to recommend you to others. And their recommendation means a lot. Consumers are so inundated with advertising they have become jaded. They no longer believe what they see or hear in advertisements. But if a friend, or even an acquaintance, recommends your business—they believe and they are ready to buy. Powerful yes, but also two-edged: If someone doesn’t like your business and starts spreading that word the results can be devastating. The Promoterz™ service puts you in the loop. You will be the first to know if a customer is not pleased and be able to solve the issue directly with the customer. For those customers that are pleased, the Promoterz™ service makes it easy and even rewarding for them to share with their friends.
How does this thing work?
The Promoterz™ service is a tool. It is an amazing tool, but it is just a tool. And, just like a hammer left in the tool box will not drive any nails, if you don’t believe that customer loyalty is the key to growth or that understanding customers’ needs will help you better serve them or that you can solve a disgruntled customer’s problem given the chance, then this tool is not for you.
If, on the other hand, you see the need for a tool that will help you better understand your customers’ needs, improve your products and services, find new customers, reduce your advertising budget and increase your profit--put your hammer down. It’s time to start using a power tool.
Less than $5 a day
At this point we hope you're thinking, “I got to get me some of that” or at least, “Sounds interesting but what’s it going to cost me and how much work is it going to be to implement?” Either way, here is what you need to know: The Promoterz™ service costs just $150 a month and will take you no more than 30 minutes to set up. How much is just one more loyal customer worth to your business? How many referrals will that customer generate? How many more purchases will she make? Do the math—a 5% improvement in customer retention will improve your bottom line by 25 to 100%!
But can't I do this myself?
These are solid ideas that make sense. Can’t I just implement them myself? Our honest answer: absolutely. You are a business owner. You can do whatever you set your mind to. But before you go into creation mode, consider the costs. With modern technology we are spreading the costs across thousands of businesses. So we can charge $50 a month and still feed our families. What will $50 a month get you toward implementation? Less than ten hours of minimum wage time. That should be just about enough to go through and add up the scores on your satisfaction cards. Of course by the time that happens the data will be stale and you'll still want to see graphs and tables and figure out some way to send email to all these people with your timely messages. The point is, you can't get this functionality cheaper or quicker.
Promoterz™ is right for your business
If you want to grow your business, Promoterz™ is right for you. In 30 minutes or less you can be up and running. It works whether you do or not, gathering feedback from your customers, reporting with whizzy graphs and tables, sending email, and generating referrals. All for less than $5 a day. You can’t find an employee to do all that for so little. Signup for Promoterz™ today and start growing your business.
You should signup for the Promoterz™ hands-free, word-of-mouth marketing service.